Week 6’s AP Top 25 brought a familiar sight to the top, with Texas and Georgia still holding down the first two spots after Week 5. Texas was idle this past weekend with a bye, while Georgia followed a slow start against Vanderbilt with a 38-14 win that kept the Bulldogs firmly planted near the top of the poll.
The SEC’s presence runs deep again this week. Nine league teams made the latest rankings, with Alabama climbing a bit to No. 6 ahead of its huge Week 6 showdown with Georgia in Tuscaloosa.
Ole Miss sits at No. 9, LSU at No.
10, Missouri at No. 14, Tennessee at No.
15, Florida at No. 16 and Mississippi State at No. 17.
Kentucky, meanwhile, fell out of the poll after beating South Carolina and now leads the receiving votes group with 160.
At the top of the full poll, Texas is followed by Georgia, Notre Dame, Miami and Ohio State. Alabama comes in at No. 6, with Indiana, BYU, Ole Miss and LSU rounding out the top 10. The rest of the top 25 features Texas Tech, Utah, Oregon, Missouri, Tennessee, Florida, Mississippi State, Oklahoma State, USC, Iowa, UCLA, Houston, Boise State, SMU and Pitt.
Pitt checks in at No. 25 with 162 votes, just ahead of Kentucky’s 160. The rest of the teams receiving votes are Wake Forest with 142, Wisconsin with 88, Duke with 83, Northwestern with 59, Nebraska with 48, Minnesota with 19, Arizona with 19, James Madison with 12 and North Dakota State with 7.
The poll also lists Miami (FL) at 97%, Georgia at 92%, Notre Dame at 91%, Ohio St. at 84%, Texas at 81%, Indiana at 75%, Texas Tech at 46%, Ole Miss at 35%, Florida at 33% and Mississippi St. at 13%.
In Other News...
Alabama Found Two Reasons To Feel Better Before Georgia
Before Alabama turns its attention to Georgia, there were a couple of encouraging signs worth noting from the latest game. Keelon Russell gave the offense a lift by throwing for 285 yards and three touchdowns while adding a score on the ground, and the run game got meaningful help from a deeper group of backs, including Traeshawn Brown and EJ Crowell.
Xavier Griffin also stood out on the other side of the ball, leading the team in tackles and helping make several key defensive plays. Just as important for a defense looking to steady itself, Alabamas run front was much firmer against Mississippi State, holding the Bulldogs to 18 rushing yards and giving the Tide something concrete to carry into a bigger test. [Read more 🡒]
Bryce Underwoods Struggles Leave Michigan With An Uncomfortable Week 5 Reality
Keelon Russells rise has become one of the more notable developments around Alabamas early-season start, and the quarterbacks recent stretch has only sharpened the attention. After throwing four touchdowns in the spring game and then piling up 10 passing touchdowns and 970 yards over three games, he has helped steady a team that rolled to a 56-23 win and moved to 5-0.
For Alabama, that kind of production matters not just in the standings but in the broader SEC picture, where quarterback play can change the feel of a season quickly. Around the country, other programs were dealing with their own storylines in Week 5, but Russells emergence has given Alabama a promising answer at the position and left the rest of the league watching what comes next. [Read more 🡒]
Alabama Has A Real Shot To Climb After Saturdays Top 25 Chaos
Saturdays college football slate did Alabama a favor, even before the next AP Top 25 poll gets posted. USC barely survived an upset scare, Ohio State and Missouri both had results worth watching, and a few teams around the country did enough to create the kind of weekend that tends to shake up the middle and upper tiers of the rankings.
For Alabama, the bigger point is simple: the Crimson Tide have a real path to move up if the voters decide the chaos mattered as much as the resumes. The poll will be refreshed soon, and with conference play still unfolding, there is a decent chance the order gets jumbled in a way that opens the door for Alabama to climb if enough teams ahead of it wobble. [Read more 🡒]